OPINYON
December 26, 2018-January 1, 2019
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Three bells and a beauty
queen
It turns out that three bells and a beauty queen have lifted the spirit of Juan de la Cruz
in the year that is about to end.
The return of the historic Balangiga icons and the coronation of Catriona Gray as
Miss Universe were momentous occasions for Filipinos reeling from the ongoing
intramurals over so-called parked budgets and vicious critics who just can’t seem to
find anything right with the present dispensation.
“CATRIONA BREEZED THROUGH IT WITH FLYING COLORS. SHE HAS
PROVEN THAT SHE IS NOT JUST A BEAUTY, SHE’S DEFINITELY BRAINS,
TOO.
Over a century after being taken as spoils of war by American troops in 1901, the
Balangiga bells have found their way back to the country following efforts by both
Filipinos and Americans. It was, to us, a culmination of the long struggle of the
Philippines for the return of a long-lost national heritage.
It may not have started with him, but the turning point in the eventual return of the
controversial bells, we dare say, proved to be that impassioned plea of President
Duterte in last year’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA) delivered without any filter.
Of course, the President wouldn’t take credit for it. He is wise enough not to give any
ammunition for his critics to pounce on him. Fact is, he deflected it, saying both the
American and Filipino people worked together to make the return a reality.
“Give us back those Balangiga bells. They are ours. They belong to the Philippines.
They are part of our national heritage,” he told the Americans at the SoNA in the
presence of US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.
Then speaking in Tagalog with his usual Visayan twang, he made his plea: “Isauli
naman niyo. Masakit yan sa amin (Please, return them. It was painful for us).”
No less than US Deputy State of Mission John C. Law credited the return of the bells
to the President’s “forceful and passionate call.”
“We heard, we listened and we recognized that returning the bells to the Philippines
was quite simply the right thing to do,” he said at the turn-over rites in the sleepy town
in Eastern Visayas last Saturday.
Manila has pushed for the bells’ return since, at least, the 1990s with backing from
past Philippine presidents, the influential Catholic Church and supporters in the United
States.
But the repatriation was held back by some American lawmakers and veterans who
viewed the bells as tribute to their fallen soldiers in that infamous massacre at the turn
of the 20th century.
Leave it to Duterte, however, to do his thing. His style may not be acceptable to some,
yet he is an effective communicator. Like the late John F. Kennedy and other strong
leaders, he tells it like it is and speaks passionately when it comes to crisis scenarios.
One is reminded of Abraham Lincoln when he delivered one of the world’s most
eloquent speeches in his by now classic Gettysburg Address. Or former US President
Ronald Reagan who kept his language simple to get his audience onboard.
Duterte may not be as eloquent as these great communicators, but the former Davao
mayor clearly outlines what needs to be done. Like Reagan, he mirrors his audience
and gets them to concur.
Catriona, in her response to the Q&A portion of the recent Miss Universe pageant, was
just as convincing. Like Duterte, she spoke from the heart and had that sensibility to
connect to her audience. Like Duterte, her heart was in the right place. Looking for
the silver lining and being grateful, indeed, is not that simple as in her answer to the
final question asked of the three finalists that included Miss Venezuela and Miss South
Africa, the first runner-up. Some said she was romanticizing poverty, others said her
answer was problematic. Whatever, we have another Miss Universe in our midst and
that is what’s more important.
Let’s stop all this negativism and imposing our mindsets on what she should have said.
Remember, the finalists were allotted only a limited time to answer the question and
Catriona breezed through it with flying colors. She has proven that she is not just a
beauty, she’s definitely brains, too.
“THE TURNING POINT IN THE EVENTUAL RETURN OF THE
CONTROVERSIAL BELLS… PROVED TO BE THAT IMPASSIONED PLEA OF
PRESIDENT DUTERTE IN LAST YEAR’S SONA.
At a time when people are already tired of politicians using the House as a platform for
grandstanding, Catriona is a whiff of fresh air. There can be no better way to assuage
the feelings of the less fortunate among us when she said in her opening statement of
the pageant: “I’ve always taught myself to look for the beauty in the faces of children
and to be grateful. I would bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situations with
a silver lining and to assess where I could give something.”
For sure, there’s nothing beautiful in poverty but the willingness to end it, we believe,
is what matters.
Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for our lawmakers.
Ni Teo S. Marasigan
Krisis Krismas
Tuwing
sasapit
ang
Kapaskuhan, marami ang
naghahanap ng “Kahulugan ng
Pasko,” sanaysay na naisulat
ko noong 2005 at isa sa
pinakamabentang entri sablog
na ito, salamat sa Google.
MGA
KANTANG
PAMPASKO, OPM
Bakit
kaya,
liban
sa
“Christmas In Our Hearts”
(ni Jose Mari Chan at
kaduweto),
malulungkot
nang lahat ang pinakasikat sa
kontemporaryong mga kantang
OPM na pampasko? Lahat,
tungkol sa pagkakawalay sa
mahal sa buhay.
Tinutukoy ko ang “Miss Kita
Kung Christmas” (Sharon
Cuneta noong bago siya
nagmodang Angela Bofill sa
pagkanta), “Sana Ngayong
Pasko” (Ariel Rivera – at
hindi si Jed Madela tulad ng
sabi sa Singing Bee noong
isang gabi), “Christmas Won’t
be the Same Without You”
(Martin Nievera na todo-birit)
at, syempre, “Pasko Na, Sinta
Ko” (Gary Valenciano noong
wala pang rayuma ang boses
niya). (Dapat bang isama ang
“Merry Christmas from the
UMD”? Hindi siguro!)
Natural
siguro
na
sa
panahong ipinagdiriwang ang
pagsasama-sama ng pamilya at
mga nagmamahalan, tatampok
din ang pagkakalayu-layo ng
mga ito – na ikinakalungkot
naman. Lumang mga kantang
pang-karoling ang daluyan ng
una, habang kontemporaryong
mga kantang OPM ang tila
daluyan ng ikalawa.
Anu’t anuman, bukod sa
nakikita rito ang diumano’y
pagiging romantiko ng mga
Pinoy – at puno ang popular
na mga estasyon sa radyo ng
mga kantang pinaghahaluan
ng pighati at pag-asa – tiyak
na dinadama na ng marami
ang mga kantang ito kaugnay
ng pangingibang-bayan ng
napakarami nating kababayan.
Idinidiin nito ang isa sa
masasaklap na katotohanan
hinggil sa sistema sa bansa:
Na para mabuhay mo ang mga
mahal mo sa buhay, kailangan
mong lumayo.
At hindi ba, sa isang banda,
parang ibang bansa rin ang
pinupuntahan ng maraming
Pinoy sa mga “opsyon” na
ibinibigay sa kanila ng sistema
sa sariling bansa – empleyado
ng call center, kontraktwal
na
paggawa,
magsasaka
o manggagawang bukid,
pagkasayang sa kawalang-
trabaho, pagkalulong sa droga
at iba pang bisyo, pagkapiit sa
bilangguan? Ang mga walang
trabaho, hindi rin nagiging
masaya sa pananatili sa
bahay – balisa sa kakaisip ng
pagkakakitaan.
Nawa’y pag-alabin ng Paskong
ito, at ng mga susunod pa,
ang pag-asam at pagkilos
natin para sa isang bagong
Pasko para sa mga Pilipino –
Paskong kasama sa pagsilang
ng isang bayang malaya at
may pagkakapantay-pantay.
ISANG PANGUNGUSAP
Noong may programa pa
siya sa radyo, nagpahayag
ng pagtataka si Jessica Zafra:
Bakit daw hindi pa siya
nalalapitan para tanungin ng
mga nagsasarbey – ng SWS
o PulseAsia, halimbawa.
Ganoon din ang mga kaibigan
niya, pati ang mga kakilala
ng mga ito. “Gusto ninyo ng
opinyon?” alok niya. “Marami
akong opinyon!” sabi niya.
Ako man. Heto ang ilan, isang
pangungusap lang.
Sa pagkapanalo ni Pacquiao
kay De La Hoya: Kawawa
naman si De La Hoya
pero magiging kawawa rin
si Pacquiao dahil laging
titingnan sa hinaharap ang
magandang rekord niya (ng
pagpapatumba sa maraming
Mehikanong
boksingero)
kaugnay ng pagpapagamit
niya sa rehimeng Arroyo (na
nagpatumba ng maraming
aktibista sa bansa).
Sa malaganap na kahibangan
sa
pelikulang
Twilight:
Nagkakaisa ang mga kritiko
at mapiling mga manonood
na karaniwan ang pelikula
– masyadong romantiko sa
puntong corny ang mga linya,
napakasimple ng kwento,
walang bago kumpara sa ibang
pelikula – pero senyales siguro
ang pagpatok nito sa takilya
ng pagsulpot ng bagong
hanay o henerasyon ng mga
manonood.
Sa pagsigaw ng “Putang-ina!”
ni Sen. Mar Roxas sa rali
sa Ayala noong Disyembre
12: Ganyan talaga ang
nararamdaman ng maraming
may-pakialam sa pakanang
Charter Change ng rehimeng
Arroyo
(“Bwakanang-
ina” pa nga ang gustong
sabihin ng iba) bagamat
siguradong personal kay
Mar dahil kapag nagkataon,
pangalawang Roxas na siya –
kay Sen. Gerardo Roxas – na
mauunsyami ang pagtakbong
pangulo dahil sa mga pakana
ng nasa pwesto.
Sa isinulat ni Mon Tulfo
tungkol sa pagkamatay ni
Didith Reyes kung saan
ginawa niyang huwarang hindi
dapat pamarisan si Didith,
na namatay nang “pangit at
mabaho,” aniya: Ginagawang
huwaran para huwag pamarisan
si Didith dahil nagdusa siya sa
pagsira sa buhay at katawan
niya, pero sana mas marami
tayong maipakitang ganyang
“sampol” na mga taong
naparusahan dahil sa pagsira
sa buhay at katawan ng marami
nating kababayan.
23 Disyembre 2008
Itutuloy